Psalm 91:11

Hebrew Bible

9 For you have taken refuge in the Lord, my shelter, the Most High. 10 No harm will overtake you; no illness will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you in all you do. 12 They will lift you up in their hands, so you will not slip and fall on a stone. 13 You will subdue a lion and a snake; you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent.

Matthew 4:6

New Testament

4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur.

 Notes and References

"... Between the birth narrative (Matthew 1:18–2:21) and Jesus’s temptation (Matthew 4:1–11), both of which include angel references, Matthew describes Jesus’s baptism (Matthew 3:1–17), complete with its own unveiling of apocalyptic elements: the heavens split open, the spirit comes down as a dove, and a voice calls from heaven (Matthew 3:16–17). The significance of this event is brought to the forefront in the testing that immediately follows the baptism. Jesus is led into the wilderness by the Spirit and is tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). After forty days, Jesus is tested three times. In the second temptation, Jesus is taken to the top of the temple and challenged, “Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone’” (Matthew 4:6; Psalm 91:11). The devil taunts Jesus with Psalm 91’s promise of angelic assistance in the time of need. Here, in Matthew 4, it is not the military might of angels that are intimated (as will be in Matthew 26), but a picture of angels coming to one’s aid. Outside Psalm 91’s picture of celestial help, angels act as personal guides and protectors ..."

Bendoraitis, Kristian "Apocalypticism, Angels, and Matthew" in Stuckenbruck, Loren T. (ed.) The Jewish Apocalyptic Tradition and the Shaping of New Testament Thought (pp. 31-51) Fortress Press, 2017

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